I am "putting together" a u532 for fun (didn't see u522). I noticed you have to have an Nvidia GeForce graphics card. Deal breaker. I HATE GeForce. I hope you were able to change this out on the u522. Alias doesn't recommend any GeFore. Here's why, and I am living proof: your 3d model disappears. No, not all of the time. Only when you really need it. I almost threw my Dell out the window. And by "threw out the window", I mean threw it out the window. I was soooooo pissed. Never again with GeForce.

I have had no problems with my Radeon, which was of a similar level of the GeForce. That is non-pro. Gamer stuff doesn't always mean pro.

I have an hp pavilion ze 4800. I only know this because I can read it on the little badge below the screen as I sit here typing. I've owned it for 10 months and it has been pretty trouble-free.

Oh except for the hard drive replacement that had to happen in October!!!!! Which I think was caused by a malfunctioning fan that I kept putting off fixing. It seemed to overheat and suddenly crash and then the guy at the computer store said I needed a new hard drive so I trusted him because I didn't know what else to do.

It seems heavy, but not overly so compared to my husband's Powerbook. And I beat pretty hard on this thing - throw it in the car, drop my bag on the floor with it inside, constantly bang into walls with it - and so far just a little rubbing at the corners is all the damage I have seen.

So basically a thumbs up. Although asking me for advice about computers is like asking a cat to teach you how to speak French.

i have a prostar 4794 and i am going to buy another one. i have had this one for 2.5 years. it is a p4 3.06 with 1 gig ram, 60 gig 7200 rpm hardrive, 64 mg ati graphics card, 17" monitor and a 99 key keyboard - having a number pad is great. battery life is measured in minutes so don't plan on using it unless you are near a power outlet. i got this computer for about $2600. the next one will be about $3500, but will be a p4 3.8, 3 gigs of ram, 2 60 gig 7200 rpm harddrives and a ati 256 mg card. the computer is made by clevo - the same company that makes alienware and voodoo systems - sorry no pretty paint jobs.

Now that a most manufacturers are shipping them, buying anything other than a core duo-based notebook is a serious error in judgement.

As I've posted before, laptop build quality across the board is on the decline. what this essentially means is: don't buy from a makers "budget" line, and get a warranty.

I still like Lenovo's IBM T serries. Very well designed and well made, and customer service is top notch. the t60p won't be shipping for a few weeks, but it looks like one killer workstation notebook. Remember if buying an IBM, go through an edu loophole, or find a way into EPP or shareholder discount. Doesn't take much effort and saves big $$. If buying dell, watch the deal sites (fatwallet, bensbargains) and wait for a good coupon deal.

Computer vendors overprice ram by a lot. if you have the option, minimize the ram and upgrade it yourself (it isn't hard). crucial.com has good ram and is usually pretty good in terms of prices.

and to clear up a few misconceptions that have been posted already...

Graphics cards have nothing to do with rendering.

There's nothing wrong with geforce cards. sometimes people get a bunk chip, or they screw up the drivers. same goes for any hardware.